Nothing can be more pleasing to God than thus to show forth His praise, who has taken us, like the stone of the pit, out of darkness; and as they bore the shining plates of gold that reflected and displayed the riches and magnificence of their great builder, even so may Christ be seen on each of us, reflecting and showing forth the exceeding riches of divine grace. Oh, what grace shone in all the ways of Jesus! Even when crucified on the accursed tree, still grace shone forth: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And that was a bright reflection of Christ, when they stoned Stephen to death. He said, as it were, "Do not say anything about it; lay not this sin to their charge." Oh, for more of the bright shining of Christ in all and on all our ways! God would have us enter into the full joy of being able to give Him thanks, "who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Col. 1:12-1412Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:12‑14).
Is this my reader's joy? Can you thus give God all the glory? Are you in the pit or in the temple?—covered with sin or covered with Christ? Ah, it was of no use, though cut and hewn and sawn on one side or every side, if still left in the pit; no place in the temple; no plates of gold; no knops and open flowers. Those half-cut stones in the caverns of Jerusalem are solemn warnings. You may have long felt the axe and saw of conviction, but are you out of the cavern? This must be the work of God. Paul planted, and Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. "So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither is he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." God is the builder. "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:5-115Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:5‑11).) "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" v. 16.
Now God's way of getting stones is in this manner: the Spirit of God takes the axe of conviction and strikes deep; the Word of God is the power unto salvation to every one that believes. I met a poor old sinner the other day, who thought that no poor stone ever had the chiseling he had had in the pit of sin. The Spirit of God enabled me to set the death and resurrection of Christ before him; and while quoting these words, out he came, drawn out and delivered by the power of God. "Be it known unto you therefore, ... that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things." Oh, I love to see great stones drawn out of the pit! The old man said, "How blessed it will be to go home knowing I am saved!" "Yes indeed," I said, "and hearken to these words of Jesus: 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.' " John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24). Yes, just as Lazarus heard the word of Jesus when down in the sepulcher of death, so was this old man "born again, . . . by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Pet. 1:2323Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1 Peter 1:23)). The hour is come "when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live" (John 5:2525Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25)).
If my reader has never yet heard that voice, may this be the hour. God grant that from this moment you may yield yourself up to God, as a stone in the hands of the mason, and clay in the hands of the potter.
We must not, however, carry the figure too far; for, while a sinner is, as to that which is good, as dead as stone, yet for that which is evil he is terribly alive. Yes—a live rebel against God -a voluntary, willful, rejecter of Christ, the only foundation stone. "Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?" "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Matt. 21:42,4442Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Matthew 21:42)
44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. (Matthew 21:44).
In the day of judgment you will not be condemned because you had been in the pit of darkness, but because you refused to be taken out. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world [the dark pit], and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." The remembrance of the love of God in sending His Son to this dark pit of sin, will be like the worm that dies not. 0 what unutterable remorse!
Was it not in love to the bitten Israelites that God bade Moses lift up the serpent in the wilderness? Even so has the Son of man been lifted up. For sinners Jesus died—lost, ungodly sinners. Yes; it was these God so loved. If He had only bidden you get out of the pit yourself, you might have said, How can I, since I am as helpless as stone? But He sent His Son, and you have rejected Him; you have refused to be saved. Oh, it would have been blessed had your heart been broken with the sense of His love! But if not, it must be crushed before Him in the judgment, with the sense of His everlasting wrath. A very little while, and the end of the present scene shall come. The stone cut out of the mountain shall smite the nations, and they shall become "like the chaff of the summer threshing floor." (Dan. 2:34-4534Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. (Daniel 2:34‑45).) This terrible day is closed by those solemn words, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matt. 25:32-4632And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:32‑46).)
There is one point of contrast, however, between the earthly temple and the heavenly building, we must notice. To have seen those huge blocks of stone so built in the rock, one would have thought they would have stood forever. But the time came when the Chaldeans prevailed against them, and again, when restored in later times, as our blessed Lord foretold, the Romans prevailed until not one stone was left upon another. Where are those two pillars—Jachin, which means "he shall establish," and Boaz, "in it is strength" -though they were such brass pillars as the like were never cast? They stood at least twenty-seven feet high and six feet in diameter; yet they are removed and gone, and not a trace of this wondrous building remains.
But Jesus, speaking of Himself, the only foundation, says, "Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Jesus did not say to Peter, Thou art this rock, but, Thou art a stone. Yes; Peter, a stone, needed to be built on the rock as much as any man. He found this need as much in the high priest's hall as on the swelling billows. Christ is the foundation rock; and that rock is not at Rome, but in heaven. And where the foundation is, there must the building be. Ask a mason if this is not so. Yes; God is not building His Church at Rome, but in heavenly places in Christ. Against the Church, so high, so blessed, so secure, the gates of hell shall not prevail. How can they? Eve was not made or built of the flesh of Adam; but she was built of his very bone, and that bone so near his heart. And the Church, the spotless bride of Christ, all glorious within and without, is also built in Christ, so that "We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." Eph. 5:3030For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:30).
Some talk about Christ letting the saint slip through His fingers. No, the devil would have to pull Christ's fingers off before one of His little ones could perish. No, when time shall be no more, this holy building of God shall be seen "Descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." Ah, then it will not be like the plates of gold covering the stones. We shall be changed. We shall be like Him, fashioned like unto His glorious body, like unto a stone most precious—no speck of sin, no dull shade of grief, no cloud of sorrows - clear as crystal. This, my fellow stone, is our eternity. Highest archangels will be ravished with wonder. "The street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." Our feet, that now tread the dirty streets of this sin-defiled earth, shall soon tread the golden street of the city of God. What heart can conceive what it will be to be there? No temple there to shut in and hide the glory. No; God and the Lamb are there. They are the temple of it. "The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." And all yours, my fellow believer. Yes, though too bright for mortal eyes. Yet wait a little longer. A few more struggles, a few more victories over self, sin, and Satan, through Him that strengthens. Yes, though Jachin and Boaz be removed and gone. "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name." Thus speaks Jesus, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Hark! He also speaks to God. "Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me." Blessed Jesus, Thy will shall be done; we shall soon be with Thee. We ask no more. Thou couldst not ask more than for us to be with Thee.
There is but one point more, and I close. (Read 1 Chron. 22:17-1917David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18Is not the Lord your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people. 19Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 22:17‑19).) Now if David commanded the princes of Israel to help Solomon, saying, "Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath He not given you rest on every side?" how much more has God given us rest and perfect peace through the blood of the Lamb. And now He says, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." If my reader has not this "rest on every side," then do not think to get it by preaching or doing; let me point you to Him who gives it, even to Jesus. But if you have peace with God, then "Set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build."
There is a work for every mason, and for every man who has found rest to his own soul. Some may be felling proud cedars, others striking with the stern axe of conviction down in the deep mine, others drawing with strong cords of love divine, and others fitting together the building.
Do not say, I can do nothing. "Is not the LORD your God with you?" "Arise therefore, and build."
God give us more willingness of heart, more singleness of eye, more simplicity of faith; and as the building grows in silent power—yes, when the top stone shall be brought with shouting—to Him be all the praise! C.S.
(Concluded) (Continued from last month)